Billy Wilder’s Rules of Screenwriting

The more subtle and elegant you are in hiding your plot points, the better you are as a writer.

If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act.

A tip from Lubitsch: Let the audience add up two plus two. They’ll love you forever.

In doing voice-overs, be careful not to describe what the audience already sees. Add to what they’re seeing.

The event that occurs at the second act curtain triggers the end of the movie.

The third act must build, build, build in tempo and action until the last event, and then—that’s it. Don’t hang around.

From the excellent Conversations with Wilder by Cameron Crowe.

And here’s the man himself at his weekend hideaway in Trancas, Malibu and at his office in Beverly Hills, restless and matter-of-factly, discussing the business of writing. I’m certain the back-and-forth with Izzy Diamond is for the camera’s benefit.